Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 48

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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48. Count yourself lucky you’re not trapped in that hell.

A narrow alley behind a city lined with towering buildings.
As the sun set and darkness descended thick, the street glittered with brilliant neon signs, alive with more vitality than it had been during the day.
A shabby, cramped old pojangmacha tucked away on one side of the street was crowded with office workers who had left early on this Friday evening.
The interior, which had been loud with shouts and laughter just moments before, fell silent as if by magic, and everyone turned their attention to the President’s Special Address broadcast from a television set up in one corner of the shop.

[Until now, our economy has suffered from investment contraction and financial market instability due to the cancerous element of the anonymous account system.
The real name financial system we have decided to implement will restore investor confidence and increase transparency in the financial markets, contributing to sound economic growth… I am confident that the real name financial system will greatly contribute to establishing justice and fairness in our society and achieving sound economic development.
I ask once more for the active support and cooperation of all our citizens.
Thank you.]

The faces of those watching the special address were a mixture of shock and horror.

“A real name financial system? They’re actually going through with this?”
“So what happens to us from now on?”
“It’s only something the wealthy need to worry about. It won’t affect us.”
“Surely they won’t close the banks like they used to.”
“No way they’d go that far.”
“Who knows? It’ll take time to sort out which accounts are real names and which are proxy accounts.”
“Yeah, now that you mention it.”
“I have to pay the deposit next week. This is a real problem.”

The announcement was so sudden and shocking that worried murmurs rippled through the shop from every direction.
Choi Ho-geun and his team members, who had come to unwind with a drink on this Friday evening, were equally taken aback.

“Wow. Can you believe this?”
“Manager, did you hear? The market won’t open Monday morning—it opens at 2 PM instead.”

As Jung Hwan-yeop spoke with exaggerated alarm, Choi Ho-geun, his throat parched, downed the soju in front of him and opened his mouth.

“Once the market opens, there’ll be a flood of selling. That’s why they’re doing this.”
“It’s going to be chaos, just like you said.”

Yu Seok-hyun shuddered at the mere thought of it.
Then Hong Jae-hee, who had been filling her stomach with braised beef bones as a side dish, blinked her large eyes and spoke.

“If we hadn’t sold the stocks as you instructed, we would have taken a massive loss this time. Isn’t that right?”
“Absolutely.”

Yu Seok-hyun nodded in agreement, his expression grave.

“We sold off all the stocks, and just days later this happens. You don’t think he knew about it beforehand, do you?”

Hong Jae-hee reacted dismissively to Jung Hwan-yeop’s suggestion.

“Come on, no way.”
“Have you forgotten? He’s the chairman’s son. That means he could have information we don’t.”

Jung Hwan-yeop lowered his voice cautiously, glancing toward the adjacent table, and even Hong Jae-hee’s expression shifted to one of intrigue.

“Oh my… I suppose that’s possible.”
“Right. We can’t rule it out entirely.”

Even the straightforward Yu Seok-hyun nodded slightly, apparently entertaining the same thought.
Watching the three of them spin wild theories, Choi Ho-geun privately dismissed the notion as unlikely.

‘No matter how much of a chaebol heir he is, there’s no way he would have known about this beforehand.’

If implemented, it would turn the entire nation upside down.
Had word leaked in advance, public opposition would surely have erupted like wildfire.
But given that there had been no warning signs until the special address, the Blue House must have maintained absolute secrecy.
The moment this realization struck Choi Ho-geun, his entire body broke out in goosebumps.

‘Then that means he anticipated this situation without any advance information.’

Even if he hadn’t predicted the Real Name Financial System specifically, it was nothing short of remarkable.
Realizing this was no time to sit idle, he hastily rose to his feet.

“Where are you going, sir?”

At Hong Jae-hee’s question, Choi Ho-geun hurried toward the register, speaking urgently.

“I need to contact the team leader. Keep drinking.”

Reaching the register, Choi Ho-geun addressed the middle-aged shop owner with an urgent tone.

“I have something urgent, so could I borrow your phone for a moment?”
“Oh, of course. Please go ahead.”

The shop owner, a regular customer’s familiar face, readily granted permission.
Choi Ho-geun pulled the phone toward himself with a grateful expression to the owner.
He picked up the receiver and held it to his ear, then retrieved a business card from his wallet and pulled out the personal cell phone number written on the back.
As he dialed while looking at the number, the dial tone sounded, and shortly after, the call connected.

[Hello?]
“Team Lead. This is Manager Choi.”
[You’ve seen the President’s special address, I take it.]
“Yes.”

Holding the receiver, Choi Ho-geun glanced at the television where follow-up reports were being broadcast, then asked carefully.

“Did you… perhaps anticipate this?”
[How could I have known about something the Blue House was conducting in secret?]
“…”

Despite the denial, the remarkably composed tone of voice made Choi Ho-geun realize that he had anticipated this situation to some degree, even if he didn’t know the exact details.
But without showing it, he adjusted his grip on the receiver and spoke.

“I’ll have the team members return to the office right away.”
[What for?]
“Since the Real Name Financial System is being implemented immediately upon the announcement, shouldn’t we be preparing countermeasures?”

Unlike the urgent Choi Ho-geun, Tim spoke at a leisurely pace.

[I’ve already sold off all the positions we secured. What countermeasures are there to prepare?]
“…!”
[When the market opens Monday and stock prices plummet, isn’t that an opportunity to pick up shares cheaply instead?]

Choi Ho-geun, momentarily at a loss for words, wore an expression as if he’d been struck on the head with a hammer.

[Besides, the market won’t open Monday morning anyway, so there’s no need to fuss. Just rest well over the weekend.]
“…Is that really alright?”
[Those holding stocks are in a panic, but we’re not.]
“Right. That’s true.”
[Then I’ll see you Monday.]

As the call disconnected and only the dial tone remained, Choi Ho-geun set down the receiver with a bewildered expression.

“Well, this is something…”

After smacking his lips, Choi Ho-geun thanked the shop owner sitting at the register and turned back to his seat.
Jung Hwan-yeop then rose, slipping one arm through the sleeves of the jacket he had removed.

“We’re heading straight to the office, right?”

Hong Jae-hee and Yu Seok-hyun were already gathering their belongings and preparing to stand, as if it were the obvious course of action.

“No, everyone just stay seated.”
“Sir?”

The team members, who had naturally assumed they would head to the office for an all-night crisis meeting, exchanged puzzled glances.
Jung Hwan-yeop, settling back into an awkward posture, tilted his head in confusion and asked.

“Wasn’t that the team leader you were speaking with?”
“Yes, it was.”

Choi Ho-geun picked up the soju bottle and poured it into the empty glass in front of him.

“But he didn’t say anything else?”

Instead of answering, Choi Ho-geun drained the soju glass in one gulp and wiped his chin with the back of his hand.

“Ah, bitter. He said to rest well over the weekend and we’ll see each other Monday.”
“Sir?”

Jung Hwan-yeop and the team members blinked in disbelief as they stared at him.
Choi Ho-geun smiled wryly, imagining he must have worn that same expression during the call.
Then he turned his gaze toward the television, which continued to broadcast follow-up reports on the implementation of the Real Name Financial System.

* * *

After the weekend passed, it was Monday morning.
The securities district of Yeouido was suffused with a suffocating tension, as if a fierce storm were about to descend.
It was the first day the full backlash of the Real Name Financial System—implemented by emergency presidential address Friday evening—was truly unleashing itself.
Though all financial institutions were scheduled to begin operations at 2 p.m. by presidential directive, securities company employees had arrived early in the morning and were operating in emergency mode.

Ring, ring! Ring, ring!

“I’m sorry, we can’t process transactions right now!”
“We’d like to help, but without identity verification per government directive, we cannot authorize withdrawals.”
“We sincerely apologize.”
“You’re saying you want to sell all of it at once?”
“If you sell your stocks and withdraw more than 30 million won, it’s automatically reported to the National Tax Service.”

The office was absolute chaos—phones ringing incessantly and sell orders flooding in before the market had even opened.

“If you sell now, your losses will be substantial.”
[I don’t care. Liquidate everything once the market opens!]

Song Jong-geun, holding the receiver, had no choice but to yield to the customer’s stubborn demands for a stock sale.

“Understood. However, with so many sell orders, you’ll need to accept some losses.”

After hanging up, Song Jong-geun loosened his tie knot with one hand and vented his frustration.

“Damn it. This is driving me insane.”

The relentless barrage of customer calls since morning had completely drained me.
A subordinate nearby had just finished his own call and asked with evident exasperation.

“Another sell order?”
“Yeah.”

Song Jong-geun replied in an exhausted voice.

“Once the market opens, today’s going to be absolute pandemonium.”

The subordinate delivered unwelcome information with a fearful expression.

“The trading floor is packed with customers wanting to sell their stocks.”
“Ugh…”

Song Jong-geun sighed, splashed water on his face, and weakly waved his hand toward his colleague.

“Bring me all the sell orders we’ve received so far.”
“Yes, sir.”

My subordinate quickly gathered the orders and handed them over.
As I reviewed the sell orders, my face contorted involuntarily and a groan escaped my lips.

“Ugh…”

I had anticipated the shockwave from the Real Name Financial System and spent the weekend preparing countermeasures as best I could.
But the investors’ anxiety far exceeded my expectations, and just thinking about what would unfold when the market opened in a few hours filled me with dread.
I turned my head to look at Investment Team 4, situated beyond the partition at a distance.
Unlike the other teams in chaos, Investment Team 4—which had liquidated all their holdings before the Real Name Financial System announcement—appeared remarkably serene.
As I gazed at them enviously, the telephone on my desk rang loudly once more.

Ring! Ring!

By now, just hearing the bell sound was enough to trigger my nerves. I furrowed my thick brows and reached out to pick up the receiver.
Something told me today would be an exceptionally long and grueling day.

Meanwhile, Choi Ho-geun and his team members sat clustered on the sofa in his private office while he was briefly away.
Though the walls separated them, they were thin enough that all the noise from outside filtered through clearly.
With phones ringing incessantly and employees’ voices as if a war had broken out, the team members exchanged complicated glances with one another.

“It feels strange being like this when everyone else is in such chaos.”

Hong Jae-hee ventured the words carefully, and Yu Seok-hyun nodded in agreement.
Then Jung Hwan-yeop shuddered as if horrified and spoke.

“Be grateful we’re not in that hell. Everyone out there must be dying.”

As he shuddered with absolute refusal, Choi Ho-geun readily agreed.

“Right. Everyone’s nerves are on edge right now, so manage your expressions when you’re out there.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Understood.”

In times like these, it was best to keep your head down and avoid drawing unwanted attention.
Just as Hong Jae-hee and Yu Seok-hyun answered in unison to Choi Ho-geun’s advice, the door opened and Seok-won, the office’s owner, stepped inside.

“Team Leader!”

Upon seeing him, Choi Ho-geun and the team members quickly rose to their feet.
I walked naturally to the seat of honor that had been left vacant and sat down, then spoke.

“Everyone, please sit.”

Once Choi Ho-geun and the team members had settled back onto the sofa, I opened my mouth with a calm voice.

“You all should understand the situation by now.”

The team members’ gazes, which had been quietly fixed on me, had transformed entirely.
It made perfect sense—what had seemed like madness just days ago, that stock liquidation, had become impeccable timing.

“As you’ve probably anticipated, when the market opens this afternoon, the entire market will plummet sharply.”

Even now, the incessant ringing of phones echoing from outside was enough to suggest the market would collapse catastrophically.

“Once panic selling floods in and the index crashes, we’ll accumulate all the volume at the bottom. Keep that in mind and prepare accordingly.”
“…!”

Startled by the unexpected directive, Choi Ho-geun and the team members stared at me with wide, astonished eyes.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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